Electric cars: most sales are not for ecology, according to a survey

While the auto industry in general struggles to find a way to lower the price of its electric cars, some brands have overlooked this concern and are now claiming that some of their battery (EV) models are already as profitable as the fossil fuels that preceded them.

Mercedes-Benz has just announced that the recently launched 100% electric Mercedes-Benz EQE already gives it the same profitability as the glorious E-Class, although they also acknowledge that this is the only battery-powered model to achieve this commercial success, as the EQS failed to be such a bargain as the gasoline counterpart of the S-Class.

There is something that cannot be excluded from this analysis, which is that in the segments high by size and luxury, the price is not a problem for the user, and it is probably a repeated situation to discover that the same owner of an E-Class also has an electric EQE in the garage. So, even if the EV is still more expensive than its thermal engine counterpart, the buyer will want to have it or add it to his previous model.

Polestar has taken off from Volvo to become the Geely Group’s all-electric brand in premium cars. By design and equipment, Swedish cars are even more distinguished than their bigger siblings, and from the first Polestar 2, and with the Polestar 3 now, they have managed to position themselves as a brand with serious claims to fight with the Tesla Model S Tilesthe Porsche Taycan and the very Mercedes EQSamong other luxury sedans.

Yet a recent study conducted by Polestar in the United States leaves those who strongly advocate the decarbonization of the planet through electric cars in awe. At least for the North American market, a sample of 5,086 drivers of electric cars, not necessarily from Polestar, threw like first conclusion that it is not to contribute to global warming who chose to leave the oil motor for the electric.

According to the study figures, 55% of people did not consider environmental reasons as a deciding factor for purchase, although they admitted to being aware of the contribution they made to this global cause. Above all, those who underlined it the most were the respondents who occupied the age group from 18 to 24 years old.

In exchange, 48% of respondents pointed out that the battery car represents a saving on the cost of energy for their work, recognizing that the price of fuel cannot compete with that of electricity. There was also a high percentage of EV users, who highlighted as very important the performance and comfort driving, in particular driving a car that does not emit sound.

And one fact that has served to justify Polestar’s equipment and connectivity is that youn 40% of people decided to buy an electric car because of its state-of-the-art infotainment system. Here is a fact to highlight and it is that the Swedish firm has decided to include in its Polestar 3the system Android Automotiveas a means of providing access to a massively known system.

“The idea of ​​luxury that depends on what’s ‘under the hood’ has given way in the electric age to prioritizing seamless connectivity, integration into existing digital ecosystems and to the good design of digital systems”of Gregor Hembrough, director of Polestar for North America. And this is the paradigm shift that the industry is encountering in Premium brands. Price is not as important as innovation and technology. In this segment, technological advances weigh perhaps as much as in other times it was essential to have a powerful engine like few others.

But it is clear that only high-end manufacturers can put the price aside. Your customers will always be there, in any case moving from one brand to another in the same range. It’s like another level, which it always was, but now it seems further from the “terrestrial beings” they just want change your car with a gasoline engine for one that is powered by a batteryand they find a gap too large to be able to do so.

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